


The L-Word

by haloween



Series: One Shots/AUs [3]
Category: Infinity Train (Cartoon)
Genre: Good for them, Hugs, I love these kids, Teenage Shenanigans, everything turns out just fine, i REALLY love these kids, lake has a crush, lake is physically incapable of Not ripping up any clothing she gets, that's pretty cute too, yknow all that fun stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 11:08:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29932506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haloween/pseuds/haloween
Summary: You ever just accidentally tell your friend you love him?Oops.
Relationships: Jesse Cosay & Lake | Mirror Tulip
Series: One Shots/AUs [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2196510
Comments: 7
Kudos: 13





	The L-Word

**Author's Note:**

> This was written Dec. 2020. Like all of my works from last year, it's, uh, certainly Not The Best. I did start to finally figure out their voices here, though, at least.

_One week after the train._

Lake didn't talk about the mirror world often. But on the rare occasions she did--wow, if it didn't sound even more depressing than Jesse ever imagined. Each time they had these conversations, he learned something new and horrible.

"So, yeah. I thought I couldn't love people, 'cause that's all they ever told me."

Jesse took a long sip from his cola slurpee and set it back down on the Gas 'n Dogs table. Being told her whole life her emotions were fake, because she was fake, because she wasn't a person and only people could feel...that had to weigh on her. "Heavy."

"Yeah," she said again, head slumped into her crossed arms.

"...You want a fry?" He slid the box over. Bright red cardboard, stamped with the Gas 'n Dogs logo, and full of delicious, artery-clogging, deep-fried goodness. With a side of ranch. He didn't use any--lactose intolerant--but he thought she might like some.

She perked up and accepted the container, dunking a fry into the ranch before munching on it. They sat in silence for a moment while she ate. Jesse drank from his slurpee, briefly turning toward the mountains.

"So, when did that change?" He asked after she had eaten a few more fries.

"When did what change?" She cocked her head.

"Thinking you couldn't love people. When'd you realize the flecs were wrong?"

Lake stuffed another fry into her mouth. Maybe she was thinking about it, maybe she was just busy realizing how cool eating was. He wouldn't know. He was never that great at reading people. If she was upset, he'd definitely be able to tell, though. Even he couldn't miss the kind of hurricane-upset she got.

"Oh, after I met you, and...realized..."

"Hm?" He blinked.

_That you love me?_

Lake turned a violent gray, visibly wishing she could stuff the sentence back into her mouth. Or sink into a hole in the ground. Or maybe just punch him and run? She had done that to a denizen on the train once. He hoped she wouldn't do it to him now. Were she human, she would be beet red.

Jesse almost responded, and then, thinking better of it, took another drawn-out sip of his slurpee. He often talked without having anything to say, but this probably wasn't the best time for that.

"Is that, um, a weird thing to say about a friend?" Lake finally asked.

He slid off the bench and stepped around to Lake's side of the table. Her gaze followed him. She seemed anxious about what the answer would be but unwilling to back down. "Backing down" wasn't one of her strong suits, after all. It was one of the things he really admired about her. A month ago, he would have responded with what he thought she would like to hear. Some noncommittal remark that she could interpret either way. But now...

"Nah. I don't think so." He beamed down at her. Relief washed over her face, although her blush didn't lessen any.

"Also!" He leaned over and wrapped her in a hug. "Aww! I love you too!"

"Yeah, yeah." She yanked him into a sit on the bench, returning the hug. "But this doesn't mean I'm gonna start getting all sappy all the time."

"I know. That's why I'm savoring it while it lasts."

"Okay, hug over." She released him, although his arms remained tightly wrapped around her. "Get off. I want more fries."

"That's not fair! It's only been three seconds!" He held up three fingers to demonstrate. "You can eat fries and hug me at the same time. Two hands. Not that hard."

"We'll compromise," she snickered. "You get five more seconds."

He giggled with her. "I'll take it."

_One week and two days after the train._

Jesse had thought Lake was embarrassed in the lucky cat car. If you asked, he would have said that she was embarrassed after accidentally telling him she loved him. And he was absolutely positive that she was mortified when she had no choice but to answer his question about reflections and going to the bathroom. But all of that was nothing compared to how absolutely fucking _humiliated_ she looked right now. Her entire face was that dark gray he'd come to recognize as her blush. The wood of the park table was literally splintering under her grasp. She was _twitching_.

"I." She growled. " _Do not. **Have a crush.**_ "

He stepped back until he was out of her arm's reach. Leaned forward. Realized it was putting his face in her arm's reach. Realized that was a horrible idea. Took another step back.

"Really? Because it kinda seems to me like you have a crush."

Lake opened her mouth, but for once in her life, apparently had nothing to say. She settled for an admittedly terrifying glare.

"Like, you basically fell over when she touched your shoulder. I touch your shoulder all the time, and you never get weird about that, so I'm just saying...you have a crush. You probably wanna hold her hand, kiss her, maybe even-"

She cut him off with a groan, throwing her head into her hands. "Jesse, you're actually the fucking worst."

"Yeah, but you love me." Grinning triumphantly, he leaned on the table next to her.

"And if I didn't, you'd be missing a few teeth right about now." She held up a hand. The tip of her middle finger was tucked neatly against her thumb.

"Ah, right..." He scooted away. Best to try avoiding the absolutely brutal forehead flick that was, inevitably, about to come his way.

"Jesse."

"Uh, yeah?"

"Come here."

He squinted at her. "Why?"

She gave no response other than a wave of her flicking hand and a raised eyebrow, as if to say _You know why._

"Wh-I'm not just going to _let_ you concuss me! Get away!"

"It's okay," she said smugly. "I love you, remember? I won't hurt you too bad."

"That's sweet," Jesse replied.

And then he turned and ran.

_One week and five days after the train._

"Lake, c'mon."

"I already told you, I like my stuff."

"Yeah, well, you can't just sit around in a towel all the time while your clothes are in the wash."

Judging by the skeptical look she was giving him, Lake didn't completely agree. One hand kept a faded purple towel securely around her lower body, and the other was planted firmly on her hip. Her clothes had only gone in the wash once before, right after they got off the train. They had been so caught up in the rush of being free, explaining Lake to Jesse's parents, and figuring out what the hell was going to happen next that it was easy to absentmindedly spend an hour on Jesse's bed, wrapped in blankets and too tired to feel awkward. But that definitely couldn't be a regular occurrence. Lake needed her own set of outfits.

"Laaake..."

"Okay, I get it," Lake said. "But I still don't want to wear _your_ stuff. It's too...you. Too bright and cheery and all that junk."

"So," he slid open his closet door, "what you're saying is that you're a gloomy jerk?"

"Excuse me, _Mr. Sunshine_ , but not constantly wearing yellow doesn't make me a jerk. I'm a jerk for different, cooler reasons." Even with his back turned as he dug through his mess of clothes, he could tell she was smirking. It leaked into her tone.

Jesse chuckled. "Okay, I know none of this stuff is your style. But we can't really afford to buy an entirely new wardrobe right now, so...take some of my stuff?" He tossed a faded pair of dark red boxers at her, which she caught casually. He hadn't worn them in a while, and they were probably too small for him by now, but they would fit her well enough. And hopefully the color wouldn't be too much of an affront to her personal taste.

"Yeah, alright." She examined the pair for a moment before nodding slightly in approval and slipping it on. Then she tossed the towel aside and plopped down onto her mattress.

He turned back to the closet, searching for bottoms. After a moment, he pulled out a pair of cuffed light blue jeans. "Here, these should fit too." Lake accepted them without complaint, and so he began the search for a t-shirt that wouldn't look stupidly oversized on her. This black one? Nah, it was the right color, but it was way too big. The orange one would probably fit, but she didn't like orange...maybe he could-

_RRRIP_

At the sound of tearing fabric, Jesse whirled back around. Lake was halfway through ripping the left lower leg from the rest of the jeans. And judging by the expression on her face--like a kid caught in the cookie jar--this was one of those rare occasions where he actually looked mad.

"What are you doing?" He demanded. Rhetorical question. It was already obvious.

"They would look good as shorts," she explained. "And, uh, it's a habit."

Jesse ground his teeth together. Maybe it wasn't clear, but-- "Those are jeans. Pant jeans. That I would have maybe liked to wear again at some point."

Lake inspected the damage she'd done, wincing as she felt at the tear, then looked back up. "You love me?" She offered, grinning guiltily.

He sighed. "I'd better. I'd really better. Go ahead and finish taking the legs off, I guess. Can't fix it now."

He grimaced as Lake resumed destroying the pair. Partially because he never quite got used to her unnerving strength, and partially because those were _expensive_. It was okay so long as she would be happy with them, he supposed. It wasn't a waste if she wore them.

"Hey, this isn't bad! Jesse, what do you think?" She stood and stuck a leg out. The jeans were now knee-length shorts, jagged and torn at the ends. It looked better on her than the jeans would have.

"Huh, it does suit you. You should be good now. I dunno if I can find you a shirt you won't hate..."

She stepped over to the closet, giving the interior a brief once-over. "You don't have any black tank tops or something?"

"Like I said, I dunno." He shrugged. "I've kind of got a mess in there."

"I'll look, then. Man, you should really keep this more clean." She squatted down. He peered over her shoulder, and then--

"Jesse, are you kidding me?" She snorted, waving a black tank top in his face. "This was right in front of you. How did you not see it?"

"I'm bad at noticing stuff, okay? I was doing my best!"

"Might be easier if your closet wasn't a dump. But whatever." Lake pulled the tank top on with a shrug.

"So, you happy with your new outfit?"

"Yeah, like I said. Not bad."

"Cool. But don't tear up any more of my stuff. Er, our stuff." He scratched his neck. "You can wear whatever, but don't tear anything else up without asking, okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Sorry. I promise not to shred anything else."

He smiled.

She smiled back. "Even if I _did_ make it look cooler." She slowly started to laugh as he gave her an offended look, her shoulders shaking with mirth.

Jesse forced a glare for a moment, but couldn't help bursting into laughter with her. "That's not even funny," he choked out. "It's not even-"

Lake made the dumbest things seem hysterical. He really couldn't help it. Maybe it had less to do with the joke being good and more with how much he liked spending time with her. She was easy to love and easy to be loved by. Some people, he figured as they laughed, were just meant to be family.


End file.
